Poker Bankroll Management
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The following principle is key to becoming a successful poker player. Without the proper money management skills, the best players in the world would go broke. For all you skim-readers, here are the basic rules of bankroll management for Texas Hold’em.
Bankroll management is where you play at certain limits to avoid losing all of your bankroll due to bad runs of cards, which any poker player must expect from time to time. This is called ‘playing within your bankroll’. Subsequently, if you play at higher limits where there is too great a chance of losing all of your poker money, you are ‘playing out of your bankroll’.
The reason why you should choose your limits carefully in poker is due to the variance. Variance is a term used to describe the ‘ups and downs’ of poker where you fluctuate from having bad runs of cards to good runs of cards, resulting in varying profits and losses. If you play poker for long enough there are going to be periods of time where you will consistently lose money, not because you are playing badly, but because the cards are not falling your way. This means that if you do not have enough money in your bankroll to absorb these downswings, it is likely that you will lose it all.
What’s your poker bankroll?
Your poker bankroll is the total amount of money you’ve set aside for playing poker. If doesn’t matter if you have $500 spread across 3 poker rooms or $500 in one room, you always have to look at it as a whole. The bankroll must be managed on a daily basis as it will help you find out at what stakes you can play without risking to lose too much money.
Basic rules of bankroll management
For No Limit or Pot Limit cash games, your bankroll should be 20 times the full buy-in of the table you want to sit at. So if you want to have the best opportunity of making money at a 25c/50c table where the maximum buy-in is $50, you should have a bankroll of minimum $1000. You can also apply bankroll management by only putting 5% of your bankroll on the table at any given time, which matches the 20 times full buy-in rule.
For tournament games, the best method for bankroll management is 40 buy-ins for the table you wish to play at. So if you want to play at a $5+$0.5 Sit&Go, you should have a bankroll of $220.
| NL Holdem | Limit Holdem | Sit&Go’s | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blinds | Bankroll | Blinds | Bankroll | Stakes | Bankroll | ||
| 5c/10c | $200 | 5c/10c | $30 | $1+$0.1 | $44 | ||
| 10c/20c | $400 | 10c/20c | $60 | $2+$0.2 | $88 | ||
| 25c/50c | $1,000 | 25c/50c | $150 | $5+$0.5 | $220 | ||
| $0.5/$1 | $2,000 | $0.5/$1 | $300 | $10+$1 | $440 | ||
| $1/$2 | $4,000 | $1/$2 | $600 | $20+$2 | $880 | ||
| $2/$4 | $8,000 | $2/$4 | $1,200 | $30+$3 | $1,320 | ||
| $5/$10 | $20,000 | $5/$10 | $3,000 | $50+$5 | $2,200 | ||
| $10$/20 | $40,000 | $10$/20 | $6,000 | $100+$10 | $4,400 | ||
| $25/$50 | $100,000 | $25/$50 | $15,000 | $200+$20 | $8,800 | ||
| $50/$100 | $200,000 | $50/$100 | $30,000 | $500+$50 | $22,000 | ||
Conservative vs. agressive bankroll management
The basic rules above should give you the best chances of making money playing poker, but depending on your style of play, there are two other bankroll management methods that can work effectively.
- The conservative bankroll method - 40 cash games and 80 tournament buy-ins
- The Aggressive bankroll - 10 cash games and 20 tournament buy-ins
This is for long-term players who want to avoid variance and intend to make a living playing poker. A deep bankroll will help you withstand downswings.
If you want to move up quick and see instant results, the aggressive poker bankroll method is for you. However, you have to understand you’ll run into variance and you should be ready to drop down in stakes when you lose a few buy-ins because losses will have more impact on your bankroll.
Dropping down and moving up in stakes
As I said earlier, variance will always come into play in poker and there will be days where you’ll have good runs of cards and bad runs of cards. So your bankroll will alternatively be too small or too big for the stakes you’re playing at. Keep in mind that if your bankroll drops below the 20 buy-ins limit, you should also drop down a level to continue playing within your bankroll. Then, when your bankroll gets larger, you can switch back to the next level. Also, if your bankroll allows you to comfortably play at the next limit up, then you can move up to that limit.
Sometimes you might be tempted to move up a level just to test your skills and to see if you can beat a more competitive game. Taking a shot is doable as long as you continue to manage your bankroll wisely and you don’t get carried away by the big wins you get at higher levels. When taking a shot at the next level up, you should not buy in for the maximum amount so you won’t be putting too much of your bankroll into the game. Stick with the 5% rule and you should not run the risk of going broke.
Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy
Sit and Go Poker Strategy
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A Sit and Go (or SNG) is a single table poker tournament which starts when enough players join the game. SNG tournaments are extremely popular online as they are one of the best ways to build your bankroll and win entries to major poker tournaments. In 2003 and 2004, both WSOP winners earned their entrance through satellite tournaments at PokerStars. Other rooms like Titan Poker also offer nice SNG tournaments such as the Jackpot Sit and Gos. This article will teach you the basics of Sit and Go strategy by exploring the different stages of a single table tournament.
Early Stages
At the early stages of a SNG tournament when the blinds are small and the stacks are deep, you should play tight and solid poker. Tight play is better at the beginning because at middle stages and bubble play, the dynamic known as ‘fold equity’ comes into play. When the blinds increase, having the ability to force your opponents to fold is essential, so it’s very important to keep enough chips for the later stages. You should generally limp in with nothing less than small or medium pairs and bet strongly if the flop gives you a good set. Also, you should not slow play premium hands because other players will try to outplay you. Play tight, catch the fish when they call you with their weak hands and bet your premium hands aggressively.
Middle Stages
At the middle stages when the blinds increase and the number of players starts to drop, there will be lots of blind stealing, raises and re-raises. The remaining players should now consider you as a tight player and they will respect your bets, so it’s time to change gears and play more aggressively. There should be one or two small stacks below you, so put pressure on them to force them to fold. However, don’t play like a maniac against the short stacks. Try to bust them out, but only with your best hands. You should of course avoid confronting the bigger stacks unless you have a premium starting hand, but you should have enough chips to make strong bets both preflop and on the flop to get your opponents to fold and win a hand without a showdown.
At the early stages, you gave an image of a tight player who folds under pressure and gives away blinds without a fight. Now you can trap your opponents by playing two big cards or strong pairs even more aggressively but avoid drawing hands unless you can limp in as the small or big blind.
If you took bad beats during the early stages and you are short stacked, you should play more loosely against the smaller stacks and not hesitate to shove your chips with any decent hand. You will need some luck to get back into the game, but if you keep folding you’re not pushing your luck so play your hands aggressively.
In The Money
In a SNG tournament, there are usually 3 paying places, so when your reach this stage, you can relax a bit because you should have at least doubled the buy-in amount. When you sense weakness in your opponents’ game, you should be extremely aggressive. Just raise or fold. Put the pressure on limpers with strong raises unless you think they are slow playing premium hands. If you are the chip leader or close second, do not let the third player keep his big blinds. If he’s your typical SNG player, he will probably avoid confrontation and wait for a huge hand, hoping that the two top stacks fight each other and allow him to finish second by default.
When you get heads up, play loose aggressive and raise like there was no tomorrow. Don’t hesitate to go all in with any big pair, King or Ace and raise with a Queen high or Jack high. Trap your opponent with your premium hands and you should be set for a huge payday.
Evaluation
To sum it up, while you will still run into variance from time to time and endure your share of bad beats, this basic Sit and Go strategy should help you regularly finish in the paying places and make a good profit.
Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Poker Strategy
Top 20 Poker Books - Part I
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Since there is poker, there are poker books. Some are good and some are pretty bad.
Here you will find the 20 best Poker Books which can be bought along with a small, but good and honest review.
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Harrington on Hold’em Volume I: Strategic Play
Written by Dan Harrington, winner of the 1995 WSOP main event. Harrington has so much to say that he had to carry this over to a 2nd book, Volume II. Volume I covers the majority of topics for a No Limit Holdem Tournament player. It focuses on the earlier segments of a tournament. More advanced strategies for the end game can be found in Volume II. Aimed at players with some tournament experience, looking to take their game to a higher level. The writing style is fairly easy to digest. Harrington’s experience clearly shows through on this book. Not only does he fill the book with real live examples and how to play them, but also gives the reasons behind play. This one gives a real insight in to the mind of someone who thinks deeply and carefully about the game. One of the finest books on the subject that any serious player should keep in their library. |
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Harrington on Hold’em Volume II: The Endgame
While Volume I focused largely on solid play, this book gives insight on how to play the end game, in which deviations from earlier strategies can be made. It also helps in establishing moves from other players, commonly found in higher buy-in events at this stage. Short-handed and heads up are covered exceptionally well. Along with Volume I, this makes a great set for any serious tournament player. |
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Tournament Poker for Advanced Players by David Sklansky
For players that have a serious interest in tournament poker, this makes a great addition to your collection of material. Sklansky introduces a now well recognized principle he refers to as “The gap concept”. General tournament ideas are covered, including how to adjust your game at different levels of the event, playing with and against short and large stack, deal making, last longer bets, and much more. Although some sections could have been extended with further information, this is certainly a book that should be on your list. |
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Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time Volume I
Although there are numerous books out there on poker, there are not many written by primarily online successful poker players. This one comes directly from 3 top online poker players, PearlJammer, Rizen, and Apestyles, who use their own hand histories to explain concepts. The authors have been extremely careful with the hands selected for analysis, all coming from their past online play. This certainly isn’t a book for beginners. If you are looking to get great insight in to playing online mid limit tournaments, this is an amazing addition to your library. |
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Poker Tournament Tips from the Pros by Shane Smith
From one of the greatest writers, learn the best strategies for different stages of an event and how to avoid 26 potential tournament traps. Also gives 21 top tips for winning poker tournaments. |
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Arnold Snyder’s The Poker Tournament Formula
If you have read Harrington and Sklansky and still need a boost to your tournament game, this may be the addition for you. Synders strategy is predominantly focused on position, unlike Sklansky who puts more focus on your hand. Although low limit event strategies are lacking, this proves to be a very good addition for students of the game. |
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Arnold Snyder’s The Poker Tournament Formula 2
This book focuses on larger events with slower structures, such as the WSOP and the WPT. This is for those who wish to step up their game and enter the world wide tournament circuit and taking a stab at potentially rich rewards. Synder presents some complicated concepts in a very clear understandable manner. This is a good addition for playing looking to play in bigger events. Synder discusses some well accepted principles, as well as challenging and refuting many past strategies with provocative and compelling reasons. |
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Every Hand Revealed by Gus Hansen
From a player with a reputation of playing any two cards, showing wild play that seems to defy logic. This book shows the clear and logical thought process of his seemingly crazy decisions. You’ll soon learn that if you’re going to describe Gus as crazy, it’s more accurate to consider him “Crazy as a fox”. Hansen takes readers through his 5 day performance during the 2007 Aussie Millions tournament, going on to win $1.2M. The book well discusses his thoughts during key hands and stages through the event. Gus also highlights hands which he believes he may have played incorrectly, and gives the insight to this. It just goes to show even the top pro’s make mistakes. A highly rated read. |
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Erick Lindgren Reveals His Tournament Secrets
This book is from a well known professional who teaches you from start to finish - starting from trying to win a seat in a satellite, through to playing early stages, mid stages and approaching and reaching the final table. This is a well written book and is a great addition to your collection if you are looking to move your tournament game up a level. |
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Harrington on Cash Games, Volumes I & II
Straightforward writing style, coupled with real life examples, along with problems to analyze. One of two volumes, both of which are highly recommended. No serious poker player should be left without Harrington in their collection. The majority of examples are taken from a 5-10NL game. If you need to learn from start to finish on cash game, or looking to improve your cash game, you cannot afford to be without this one. A large majority of successful cash players have read this one, so you do not want to be left behind. |
Everythingaboutpoker.com · Filed Under Reviews
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